St Albans

09/08/2011 00:00:00

By the seventh century Hertfordshire was ruled by the Kings of Mercia. Offa, the greatest of the Mercian kings, is credited with the foundation of St. Albans Abbey in 793. By the time of the Norman Conquest a small town was clustered around the Abbey of St. Alban. The first Norman Abbot, Paul of Caen, had the Abbey almost entirely rebuilt in 1077 and by 1086 the Doomsday Survey revealed a population of 500 living in St. Albans.

St. Albans thereby grew as a consequence of its position on the old Roman road between London and Chester. By 1577 there were 27 inns, 2 taverns and 26 alehouses catering for travellers passing through the town. In 1637 the first regular coach service began between London and St. Albans.